Popular race from Logan to Jackson Hole keeps attracting cyclists from across the U.S. and foreign countries
By David Bern — First it was Belgium. Now it’s Germany.
For the third consecutive year, a Pro 123 cyclist who cut their road racing teeth in Europe stood atop the winner’s podium in the 41st annual LoToJa Classic.
Cat. 1 Adrian Rips, 29, (Team Next Level Racing) of Kaltenkirchen, Germany, won the Men Pro 123’s in a hot sprint to the line against five breakaway companions on Sept. 9, 2023.
His winning time in the 203-mile (333 kilometer) race from Logan, Utah, to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort was 8:51:30.
“It was pure happiness to win!” Rips said. “My wife and support crew were there at the finish. … It was nice to win and give back to my support crew. It worked out. Gave it reason.”
The other Pro 123 cyclist who raced in Europe before coming to the U.S. was Cat. 1 Eileen Pannecoucke. Born and raised in Belgium, she won LoToJa’s Women Pro 123’s in 2021 and 2022.
For 2023 it was Cat. 1 Heather Albert, 55, (Team Hangar 15), of Eagle, Idaho, who won the Women Pro 123’s. Albert, a past medalist in the United States National Track Championships and the United States Road Race Championships, finished in 10:19:58.
However, she wasn’t the first woman to cross the finish at the ski resort. That honor went to Cat. 4/5 Elizabeth Edwards, 32, (Team Zone Five Racing) of Hyde Park, Utah.
Edwards finished in 9:57:07 — nearly 20 minutes faster than Albert — with an average speed of 20.3 mph.
“I went into it to make the most of the day,” Edwards said about her victory. “To enjoy it. The gifts. And the opportunity to ride together with other great riders.”
Taking a close second place with the same time as Edwards was five-time LoToJa winner Jennifer Halladay, 52, (Team Hammer Nutrition) of Kona, Idaho. The Cat. 1, Master Woman 45+ rider returned to the race after a 10-year hiatus.
She was the first Master Woman 45+ racer to finish, which gave her first place in that category and a sixth LoToJa title.
Because of lower field numbers, all Cycling USA licensed women start and race together in LoToJa regardless of category and age. But respective category wins are maintained despite mixed-category finishes.
Rips rode for Team AKT-Brandenburg, a Pro Continental development road team based in Munich, Germany, until 2020. As a teen cyclist, he wanted to race LoToJa in 2011 when he was a 16-year-old high school foreign-exchange student in Clearfield, Utah.
However, when Rips called his parents in Germany for permission, they said “no.”
“I think they were worried that I’d hurt myself racing such a long distance as a junior,” he said.
Thirteen years later, no more worries. Rips got to race LoToJa’s formidable distance and 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) of climbs that include three mountain passes.
Although he had never ridden or raced so many miles before, he said LoToJa didn’t intimidate him. He had researched both the course and past winners while home in Germany.
But Rips said that he did feel uneasy after a three-man break got 10 minutes up the road soon after the Men Pro 123’s and Master Men 35+ departed in the dark from Logan’s Sunrise Cyclery at 5:30 a.m. The peloton contained about 30 riders.
That break consisted of 2018 LoToJa winner and current course record holder Cat. 1 Spencer Johnson (Team Johnson Elite Orthodontics), 45, of Riverton, Utah; Cat. 2 Matthew Doyle (Unattached), 26, of Jackson, Wyoming; and Cat. 3 Charlie Hagen (Team Fitzgerald’s Bicycles), 37, of Wilson, Wyoming.
Also, because of lower field numbers and similar experience and ability, the Men Pro 123’s and Veteran Men 35+ are allowed to start and race together in LoToJa. The same applies to Master Men 60+, 65+ and 70+ categories.
“I started to get a little nervous,” Rips said about the break, “because I didn’t have any teammates.”
But he didn’t need teammates in the break or to help reel it in. The peloton chased hard past Preston, Idaho, (29 mi/47 km) and up 22-mile-long Strawberry/Emigration Canyon to its 7,424-foot-high summit (57mi/92km).
The chase flew down into Bear Lake Valley, continued past Montpelier, Idaho, (76 mi/122 km) and over 6,923-foot-high Geneva Summit (84 mi/135 km). Along the way, several riders got dropped.
Even more fell behind on LoToJa’s third and final climb, 7,630-foot-high Salt River Pass (106 mi/171 km). It is four miles long and has a section of nine-percent gradient before the summit.
And that is where the day’s winning break originally formed when 2019 LoToJa winner Cat. 1 Roger Arnell (Team Johnson Elite Orthodontics), 38, of Farmington, Utah, and his teammate Cat. 3 Danny Van Wagoner, 31, of Fruit Heights, Utah, went to the front and hammered the pace. They hoped to catch Doyle, Hagen, and teammate Johnson, who had been off the front for more than 100 miles.
Rips, aware of Arnell’s climbing prowess, followed as did Cat. 2 Tanner Robison, 30, (Unattached) of Ithaca, New York.
Arnell won the King of the Mountain prize atop Salt River Pass with a time of 13:22 and an average speed of 15.7 mph. He was followed a second later by Van Wagoner, then Robison at 13:50 and Rips at 13:56.
Arnell and Van Wagoner descended together from the summit into Star Valley. They soon caught teammate Johnson and Doyle, who had forged on after Hagen lost contact.
About 10 minutes later, Rips and Robison bridged up to Arnell, Van Wagoner, Johnson, and Doyle to form a new six-man break. It was the move that blew the race apart.
Through Star Valley the six men worked cooperatively to stay away from chase groups. Rips said the cooperation continued past Alpine (156 mi/251 km) and for a few miles inside Snake River Canyon. But the esprit de corps didn’t last.
“I’d attack, get a little gap, and they’d bridge up to me,” he said. “Tanner [Robison] also attacked.” Rips said this occurred several times. Although there were three Johnson Elite Orthodontics teammates in the break, he said none of them attacked after catching him or Robison.
The break stayed together through Hoback Junction (178mi/286km), onto South Loop Road and over the Snake River Bike Path Bridge at Wilson. While rolling through Hoback, “Spencer [Johnson) turned to me and said, ‘Do you like to sprint?’” Rips said.
Johnson and the rest of the break soon got an answer.
The six racers began to eye one another after merging onto Moose-Wilson Road with seven miles to go. Although their pace slowed, a gap of several minutes remained between them and chasers.
With the finish line gantry in sight, Rips knew it was going to be a drag race to the line. The stalemate ended fiercely at 250 meters.
“The wind was coming from the northwest, so I stayed on the right side of the road,” Rips said. “Danny [Van Wagoner] opened the sprint and I stayed on his wheel. In the end, I could pass him.”
Van Wagoner took second with the same time as Rips, followed a second later by Doyle for third at 8:51:31. Johnson took fourth with the same time as Doyle, followed by Arnell in fifth at 8:51:32. Robison took sixth at 8:51:37.
Rips’s average speed for the day was nearly 23 mph.
Rips’s love of cycling and racing began when he was a boy, and was influenced by his father, who was a cyclist. The Tour de France also inspired him — as did the freedom a bike provides.
“What’s great about cycling is that you can do it alone or with people,” he said. “It’s up to you.”
Rips said cycling has mostly become a “hobby” for him since he left Team AKT-Brandenburg in 2020. The team he now rides for — Next Level Racing — is an amateur team based in Munich. He now races endurance mountain bike events in Germany that feature more than 4,000 meters (13,124 feet) of climbing.
But he said jumping on a road bike again to race LoToJa “was like coming home.” The experience has him thinking of defending his title in 2024.
“I want to come back,” he said. “I loved it.”
Although the Men Pro 123’s were the first to depart Logan and cross the finish line, they were not the fastest category that day.
Those laurels went to the Men 3/4 category and winner Seth Steed (Team Ascent Cycling), 40, of Layton, Utah. He finished first in a pack of 10 other Men 3/4’s with a time of 8:42:53 — nearly nine minutes faster than Rips. Steed’s average speed was over 23 mph.
For yet another LoToJa it was proven that the strongest, best-prepared — and patient — cyclists often make it to the podium. It was also proven again that being one of the first over Strawberry/Emigration summit often leads to the winning move of the day.
Such was the case for Edwards, the top woman finisher and Woman Cat. 4/5 winner. She said the field of 50 women stayed intact after its 6:42 a.m. departure.
“It was a weird start, with no breaks in [Cache] Valley and slow going to Preston,” Edwards said.
But at the U.S. Forest Service sign, at which Strawberry Canyon’s initial 13 miles of rollers give way to the summit’s sustained ramps, the climbers made their move.
The first to go was two-time LoToJa Woman 35+ winner Hallie French (Unattached, unlicensed), 38, of Salt Lake City, Utah. Edwards jumped on her wheel, as did Halladay and Edwards’s Zone 5 teammate, Cat. 4 Katie Bonebrake, 32, of Salt Lake City, Utah.
“Half way up Strawberry, it was just the four of us,” Edwards said. “It stayed that way the rest of the day.”
The break didn’t stop at the neutral feed zone on Strawberry and had a 90-second gap at Ovid (69mi/111km). Edwards said the gap increased to three minutes by Montpelier’s feed zone with chasers strung out behind. The four women briefly stopped for fresh bidons and food.
Together they rolled over Geneva Summit, crossed the Idaho/Wyoming state line, then faced LoToJa’s last major climb: Salt River Pass.
Edwards said there was an unspoken agreement that everyone would try for the Queen of the Mountain prize, then wait at the top.
“Jen [Halladay] and I were a few seconds behind Hallie [French] three-quarters of the way up,” Edwards said. “I then decided to go for it and passed Hallie.”
Edwards won the QOM with a time of 17:36 and an average speed of 11.3 mph. French was second at 14 seconds back, Halladay third at 19 seconds and Bonebrake fourth at 58 seconds.
The break regrouped at the summit and descended into Star Valley. By Afton, the four women had amassed a 10-minute gap.
Edwards said the big lead was created because of good cooperation. Although it was a race, each would take two-minute pulls to ensure the break’s success.
After a brief stop at the feed zone in Alpine (156mi/251km), the break was confident it wouldn’t get caught and focused on finishing under 10 hours.
Edwards was also feeling confident about her chances of winning overall.
“It was so gorgeous going up Snake River Canyon,” she said. “The warm day. The fall colors. And rafters on the river. … I felt so good there. I didn’t bonk. I felt mentally strong and thought about what I’m grateful for.”
But just before Hoback such thoughts were dashed when French, who was in front of Edwards, suddenly hit the tarmac.
“I was right behind her. I saw the crash,” Edwards said. “I don’t know how I missed [crashing into] her. It was a hard crash, and we didn’t think she was going to get up and continue.”
Nevertheless, Edwards, Halladay and Bonebrake stopped. They watched medics and race officials jump from their vehicles to help French. Seeing that she was receiving aid, they resumed, but slowly.
“We were really worried about Hallie,” Edwards said. “It took our minds out of the game for a while.”
With the finish line less than 30 miles away and the prospect of breaking 10 hours, the three women soon got back to work. Each took long pulls at the front.
Edwards said Bonebrake told her before Moose-Wilson Road that she was tired and wouldn’t contest the sprint. Bonebrake had been sick with a head cold the week before, yet still had the strength and resolve to be in the winning break.
Edwards said that she and Halladay knew by then that they were going to win their respective categories. Chasers were several minutes back. The pressure was off — except for who would be first across the line.
“I’m not a good sprinter, so I just went with it to have fun,” Edwards said. “Jen and I duked it out.”
At 300 meters to go, Edwards was at the front with Halladay on her wheel. The two sprinted and Halladay made a surge to come around Edwards’s right side. The two crossed the line together in a dramatic photo finish with Bonebrake right behind taking third.
“I was pretty sure that I had won,” Edwards said. “It took about 10 to 15 minutes before I was told that I did.”
Still, it wasn’t until she stood atop the podium that “the internal feeling of winning” arrived.
Despite the hard crash before Hoback, French got back on her bike and crossed the line 12 minutes after Edwards at 10:09:32 to take fourth overall and win the Master Women 35+ category. Ten minutes later, Albert finished to win the Women Pro 123’s and fifth overall.
She was immediately followed by Lori Castagnetto, (Unattached, unlicensed) 45, of Provo, Utah, who took second in the Master Women 45+ category with a time of 10:19:59. Taking third was Cat. 4 Sonja Mitchell (Plan 7 Cycling Team), 45, of Draper, Utah.
Taking second in the Women Pro 123’s was Brittany Mercier (Unattached) 34, of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with a time of 10:22:28. And third place went to Cat. 2 Finn Taylor (Automatic | ABUS Racing) 36, of Salt Lake City, Utah, with a time of 11:12:38.
Although Women Pro 123 winner Albert finished nearly 20 minutes back from Edwards, she won the top woman’s licensed category — at age 55. That’s 23 years older than Edwards.
If Albert had raced in the Women’s Master 55+ category instead of the Pro 123’s, she also may have won. But it was Cat. 5 Dixie Madsen (Team BSR/GPS), 59, of Layton, Utah, who took first in the 55+ category with a time of 10:41:09. It was her third consecutive LoToJa crown in that category, too.
Edwards’s started bicycle racing in 2021 with a background in running half-marathons. She rode LoToJa that year and in 2022, taking third and second place, respectively, in novice classes.
She said her win in 2023 was made possible because she got more serious about training and nutrition. She hired a coach to provide structure and force her to take recovery days seriously.
“I also rode a ton over the summer — 300-ish miles per week,” she said. “But I tapered two weeks before LoToJa. Less duration with some intensity. I had to trust the process.”
Edwards said she plans to come back to defend her title in 2024. But her bigger interest is to get more women into bicycle racing. Since winning LoToJa, she has been upgraded to Cat. 3.
There were approximately 1,725 USA Cycling licensed and non-licensed cyclists in the race that comprised 29 start groups. They included licensed race categories and race relay teams, plus cyclosportive categories and ride relay teams.
The groups left Sunrise Cyclery in four-minute intervals to provide initial separation between race and ride categories.
Of note, the oldest female cyclist to start and finish last year’s race was Betsy Cordes (Team Rockford/ Owenhouse), 65, of Bozeman, MT, whose finish time was 11:00:11.
The oldest male cyclist to start and finish was Larry Peterson, (Unattached), age 79, of Centerville, Utah. He won the Master Men’s 70+ category with a time of 10:13:29 — under 90 minutes behind the Men Pro 123’s. His average speed was nearly 20 mph.
The youngest female to start and finish was 16-year-old Natalie Rehklau, of Billings, MT, with a time of 11:40:37; and the youngest male was 15-year-old Jack Atencio, of Cottonwood Heights, Utah, with a time of 12:35:23.
After 41 years of existence, LoToJa remains the longest one-day USA Cycling-sanctioned bicycle race in the U.S. Its 203-mile parcours passes through northern Utah, southeastern Idaho, and western Wyoming.
The first edition was held in 1983. Seven riders started at Sunrise Cyclery and finished in downtown Jackson. Up to 2,000 cyclists now participate annually, either riding the entire parcours or a portion in the relay.
“We had yet another terrific race, with great riders and great weather,” said race director Brent Chambers. “I’ve said it before and say it again: I look forward to LoToJa every year and how the race challenges everyone and brings out their best.”
He thanked cyclists, event staff and volunteers, sponsors, and vendors for making LoToJa possible and a success year after year. He also thanked the communities along LoToJa’s parcours for their continued support.
“Without their backing, LoToJa wouldn’t exist,” he said. “To everyone who helps make the race possible, I am deeply grateful.”
The 42nd annual LoToJa will be held on Sept. 7. The race’s 2024 website will be launched in March with online registration beginning in mid-April.
Complete finish line results of 2023’s race are available at lotoja.com. Click on the “Results/Records” tab in the navigation bar. Complete results starting from 1998 (year 15) are also available. By clicking the “First 15 Years” icon (introduced last summer), some partial and complete results from LoToJa’s earlier years are viewable.
2024 Event Information:
September 7, 2024 — LOTOJA Classic Road Race, Logan, UT, 42nd Annual, 1 day, 3 states, 200-plus mile road race from Logan, UT to Jackson Hole, WY, Brent Chambers, 801-546-0090, [email protected], lotoja.com
